Gandhi Before India Author: Ramachandra Guha-penguin india
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In 1893, when Mohandas Gandhi set sail for South Africa, he was a
23-year-old briefless lawyer who had failed to establish himself in
India. The two decades that he spent in South Africa were to be the
making of the Mahatma. In this remarkable biography, Ramachandra Guha
argues that Gandhi’s ideas were fundamentally shaped before his return
to India in 1915. It was during his years in England and South Africa
that he came to understand the nature of imperialism and racism; and it
was in South Africa that he forged the philosophy and techniques that
would undermine and ultimately destroy the British Empire.
Based on a wealth of new material, and archival research in four continents, Gandhi Before India
presents a vivid portrait of Gandhi and the world he lived in, a world
of sharp contrasts between the coastal culture of Gujarat, High
Victorian London, and colonial South Africa. It explores in rich detail
his experiments with dissident cults such as Tolstoyans and vegetarians;
his friendships with radical Jews, heterodox Christians, and devout
Muslims; his enmities and rivalries; and his failures as a husband and
father. It tells the dramatic, profoundly moving story of how he
inspired the devotion of thousands of followers as he mobilized a
cross-class and inter-religious coalition, pledged to non-violence in
their battle against a brutally racist regime.
This deeply researched and beautifully written book will radically
alter our understanding and appreciation of India’s greatest man.